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Pawcurean

Are you kidding me? After years of pressure, people finally get pet stores to agree to stop carrying treats from China only to have a new crop of cases of illness emerge in pets who ate jerky with a "Made in the USA" label.
Is it sourcing? Is it weird contamination from aliens? Who cares! Just don't buy it. It's not worth the risk. Feed your pet an apple, or some of their regular food, or follow the link to where I show you how to make it yourself.
Or watch the video:
Any ... Read more »

Ah, the humble egg. Rarely does it figure so prominently in our culinary lexicon as it does at Eastertime. And as I'm working on a post about ways to fit the pets into your Sunday celebration, I decided it was only fitting that we do a little egg recipe in today's Cooking with Koa segment.
If you're going to have a bunch of people around who are going to try to be feeding your dog any one of a number of wildly inappropriate traditional Easter foods, it's always wise to have a super special ... Read more »

I love making treats for the pets, almost as much as I love things that are easy to make. Sometimes I'm in a complicated mood, and sometimes I'm in a lazy mood. This month, I'm lazy.
As you know, I've started a torrid love affair with my dehydrator, using it to suck the water out of everything I can get my hands on in the house like a hydrophilic vampire. The chicken jerky treats went over very well, so I figured, hey, let's make some Valentine's Day treats while we're at it where I don't ... Read more »

It's a big weekend for those of us who like to sit by the TV and eat. One, the AKC/Eukanuba show airs on Saturday, so I'll be glued to the screen jumping up and down every time I spot myself on TV. And of course, the next day is that most festive of sports events, the Super Bowl.
It's fair to say I am ambivalent at best about football, so the question here is not so much "Team Pats" versus "Team Giants" as it is "Team Game" versus "Team Commercials." I for one, am of the latter persuasion. ... Read more »

Chicken jerky is one of those things I had never even thought of trying to make until recently. I know my dogs love it, and until the FDA put out multiple warnings about how imported jerky was making pets ill it was something I included in their treat regimen.
About a year ago I got a dehydrator, in one of my occasional crunchy fits of health (it never lasts.) I used it a handful of times and then let it sit on the counter. A few weeks ago, I thought I would try and figure out how to make my ... Read more »

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days in the veterinary ER, which should surprise none of you. The very first Thanksgiving I had Emmett, he dug the turkey carcass out of the trash and settled down for a little leftovers. Luckily he left a disgusting trail of grease from the kitchen, across the living room and up the (carpeted) stairs so I managed to find him before he did too much damage, but Thanksgiving is a time of excess and gluttony for all of us, and for pets unaccustomed to the ... Read more »

Lots of people like to cook for their pets, but most people don't do it every single day. Of those who do, most do so because they have to, a pet with kidney disease who also has food allergies and diabetes, that sort of thing. Occasionally there is the person who just likes to do it, like the chef who makes seared sea bass for his two incredibly spoiled schnauzers every day. I admire that dedication, which is significant.
More common are people like me, those who do it every once in a while ... Read more »

This whole thing started out simply enough. I blame it all on the Zoku, that instant popsicle maker that I finally broke down and ordered last week after coveting it for the good part of a year. ... Read more »

Congratulations to the winner, Leigh!!
When Brody's not catching aerials or checking out Bettys on the beach, he's thinking about eating. At least, I think that's what he's thinking about.
And since we just had a big special occasion, we decided to celebrate his surfing success with the penultimate California snack: fish tacos. ... Read more »

Ever since I bought the original doggie donut for Emmett back in the day, I've been trying to figure out how to reproduce the results. Donut in shape but granola in texture, crunchy, dog-friendly perfection. I've done zucchini donuts and banana donuts and granola bars, but this latest incarnation is my closest yet to perfection.
Here's how: ... Read more »

As we're winging our way to the Thanksgiving holiday (get it? winging?) I decided to dedicate some thought to what I would include on the holiday menu for the pets.
It's only fair, right? I'm going to spend all of Thursday and most of the week leading up to it in the kitchen preparing a feast the likes of which this kitchen sees only once a year, and the most the pets can usually look forward to is a sliver of turkey expertly slid under the table by Grandma (then Grandpa, then the other set ... Read more »

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging to bring you the long awaited infamous CAT LITTER EATING POST.
I ate cat litter.
I made up recipes.
I filmed it on video since Ustream wouldn't work. In hi def (ugh)
I had to edit it because YouTube won't load anything over 10 minutes. It still needs more editing, but that will take several days.
I even added a jingle. A JINGLE! If that isn't worth a couple bucks donation I don't know what else to do. I am too old to go for ... Read more »

It's been a heavy sort of week. Lots of seriousness and such in these parts. And though I have perhaps just a little more I should be saying, I'll wait until next week because I think everyone could use some frivolity to lead into the weekend, yes?
I had a large box of produce I needed to use up this week, including a big handful of some truly delectable looking peaches. I had an epic fail earlier in the week with my Pawcurean Beety Treaties which failed to convince both humans and dogs that ... Read more »

As you're reading this, I am most likely winging in the skies over the Western seaboard on my way to Denver for BlogPaws West. For those who can't go, there will be plenty of people reporting back. For those of you who are there, look for me at the Be the Change for Pets panel or otherwise wandering aimlessly in the lobby looking for animals to pet. That's my favorite pasttime.
In the meantime, here's how I spent the Labor Day weekend: laboring. As I've mentioned before, my Pawcurean segment ... Read more »

I think we spend so much time panicking about what not to feed our pets that we're forgetting to focus on what they should be eating.
Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it? What should my dog be eating? It's not an answer you'll get a lot of agreement upon. In fact, if you're into trolling internet chat rooms and like to see bloody melees, I highly recommend going to a raw diet message board and posting how Old Roy rocks. Or vice versa.
This is a topic people get downright ... Read more »

It's hard to tell from the gloomy grey skies outside, but theoretically, it's the height of summer. That means grilling corn, runny popsicles, and coming up with ways to help the fur-bearing house dwellers beat the heat.
Linda over at the 7MSN Ranch sent me a link to her blog post detailing a way to make a homemade version of Frosty Paws, which I have shamelessly replicated here. Even if you don't want to make Frosty Paws, you should go check her blog out. It is awesome. It has a lot more types ... Read more »